Leadership Tips: Create Opportunity for Your Support Staff

This week honors Administrative Professionals. According to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), there are more than 22 million administrative and office support professionals working in the United States. A recent OfficeTeam and IAAP survey of more than 2,200 administrative workers showcased that only 43% of support staff feel their full range of skills are being used, and only 7% of support staff feel they are completely utilized. That means 50% want more opportunity.

One of the easiest ways to create growth opportunities is to delegate. Many people view delegation as a way to get rid of menial tasks (what we call dele-dumping), instead, think about delegating as a way to grow the skill set of a colleague. Think about what is currently on your plate.

A couple years ago, I read a piece by Jim Schleckser, CEO of the Inc. CEO Project, he argues that the most successful CEOs use the “70 percent rule”, which means that if a person can do the task 70 percent as well, you should delegate it. This allows for the CEO to be freed up to do other tasks and strategic initiatives as well as gives greater opportunities to those around him/her.

So I ask: How can you create more opportunity for your support staff? How can you apply the 70 percent rule with your team? And this applies to administrative professionals too! How can you help to create more opportunity for your team?

This week’s tip is to engage in the conversation about opportunity and share appreciation for your secretaries, receptionist, and administrative support team members.